In a show of exemplary courage, a rafting guide drowned in Ganga river near Rishikesh, after saving six tourists from Delhi. The incident happened when the raft carrying them overturned downstream on Friday, the police said.

The 45-year-old guide, identified as Ram Kumar Pathak,
was the sole bread-winner of his family and has left behind two sons and a daughter. He had been serving the Snow Leopard rafting company and was a resident of Awas Vikas Colony in Rishikesh.

The mishap occurred around 1.30pm at Shivpuri in Tehri district, 18 kms from Rishikesh, SO Rajiv Dandariyal said.

All the six tourists were saved by Pathak but he himself could not survive as too much water had flown into his body, causing asphyxiation. After Pathak somehow managed to reach the river bank, he was rushed to a government hospital in Rishikesh where doctors declared him brought dead, Dandriyal said.

Pathak, who was a well-known rafting guide of the area, was in the business for the last 25 years. He was accompanying a team of rafters as a guide from Marine Drive, the river point from where they began their expedition on Friday morning, the police said. The body has been sent for post mortem.